Vietnam's 'Coffee Queen' opposes appointments in Trung Nguyen feud

The estranged wife of Trung Nguyen Coffee's CEO, and its joint owner with him, has protested against a decision to appoint two deputy directors.

Le Hoang Diep Thao said in a written statement to her separated husband Dang Le Nguyen Vu that the appointment of Lu Ngoc Cu, former People’s Committee Chairman of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, as a senior deputy director, is “against the company’s rules and Vietnamese laws.”

Thao also opposes the appointment of Pham Thi Diep Giang as a deputy director of public relations.

Thao is the co-founder of the Trung Nguyen Group and sits on its board and claims to "jointly own 93 percent of the firm's tangible and intangible assets" with Vu.

The appointments were supposed to have been finalized at a meeting on Wednesday, but she was not invited to it, she said.

The position of deputy directors is an important one and vital to the group’s operations, and it is the board that should be responsible for such appointments, she said.

“The appointments not only affect the group’s operations, but also harm my reputation and legal rights,” Thao said in her statement.

The failure to inform her about the meeting was part of Vu’s move to undermine and obstruct her management of the company, she charged.

It is not known when or even whether the meeting to appoint Lu Ngoc Cu and Pham Thi Diep Giang took place. VnExpress’ query to Trung Nguyen has not elicited a reply.

In 2015 Thao and Vu were involved in an acrimonious divorce that garnered headlines in the media.

They also took each other to court for obstructing the company’s operations and have been embroiled in a lengthy and costly legal battle for years over ownership of the company, which has a charter capital of VND1.5 trillion ($65.8 million).